Phenomenology of the Iranian Invisible School as a New Field of Study in Discipline of Educational Management

The purpose of this paper was to conceptualize the phenomenon of the Iranian invisible school as a new field of study in the discipline of educational management. The research seeks to conceptualize the nature of the "invisible school" as a new field of study in educational management from a phenomenological perspective and to answer the question of whether the "invisible school phenomenon" can be identified in principle, and what is the nature of this phenomenon? This phenomenological research was carried out with a qualitative, exploratory approach. Also, in terms of theoretical saturation, among school experts, professors of educational sciences and educational management, 10 people were purposefully selected and invited to collaborate in this research by using the chain sampling method. Data were collected using a focus group. After implementing the focus group, text-based analysis strategies and analytical analogy were used to extract the data. Data were collected using a focus group. The focus group has been proposed as a valid method for exploratory studies. Empirical evidence shows that the focus group process is more efficient than other methods of collecting qualitative data in producing new theoretical constructs due to the creation of an interactive, free, informal and in-depth dialogue space. In this study, all the executive requirements of a focus group, including group cohesion, group composition, group discussion process, and group management competencies were strictly observed. The analytical deductive method is a valid tool for explaining exploratory hypotheses.External validity or transferability of findings was enhanced using a multi-dimensional strategy of data participants and reviewers. After conducting the focus group and implementing interactive and in-depth dialogues, the research questions were analyzed as follows. The results showed the constructs of "Uniformity of school relations", "Unpredictability of school life", "production of tacit knowledge in school", "school hypertext flow", "school adaptation to phenomenological reality", "school adaptability and dynamic adaptation", "tendency to power balance In School Relationships", " Living on the Gray Boundaries of School", "Individualized School Dialogues", " Self-Esteeming School Processes" can be used to explain the "invisible school phenomenon" as a new field of study in the educational management discipline. In order to form a focus group, researchers in face-to-face meetings, while explaining the goals and methods of the research, asked the guests to suggest a suitable time for the meeting. After confirming the time, a written invitation was sent to all the selected ones. The venue of the meeting was the conference room of Nikan High School, located in district one of Tehran, which had all the amenities and hospitality in an intimate and informal atmosphere. During the session, which lasted about 180 minutes, with the permission of the participants, all conversations were videotaped. After the implementation of the focus group, text-based and note-based analysis strategies combined with analytical analogy were used to extract the data. The analytical deductive method is a valid tool for explaining exploratory hypotheses. This process involves preparing data and writing verbal propositions, open, centralized, and selective coding. Criteria related to qualitative research evaluation were used to assess validity and reliability. For this purpose, the internal validity or accuracy of the extracted themes, based on the judgment of three experts familiar with the nature of the phenomenon under study, the degree of credibility of the interpretations made was appropriate. External validity or transferability of findings was enhanced using a multi-dimensional strategy of data participants and reviewers. Efforts were also made to strengthen the procedures, dependence and reliability of the findings by providing sufficient evidence and evidence regarding the phenomenon under study, and a detailed and accurate description. The verifiability of the findings was ensured by explaining in sufficient detail the process of data collection and analysis, and finally, in order to convince the readers, the key phrases of the participants in the focal group were used in the interpretation of the findings.The analysis of the extracted data was done in three phase, open, axial and selective coding. The structure of the study was based on the basic assumption that "if the possibility of simultaneous critical and in-depth dialogue based on the real experiences of stakeholders in managing school processes is provided, the opportunity to enter the real text and constructively face the main challenges of school will be better." The formulation of the focus group was also supported by this assumption. The present focus group was designed to create interaction between professional participants, to motivate deeper discussion, and to reveal the diverse, hidden, and emerging aspects of the phenomenon in question. After conducting the focus group and implementing interactive and in-depth dialogues, the research questions were analyzed as follows. The results showed the constructs of "Uniformity of school relations", "Unpredictability of school life", "production of tacit knowledge in school", "school hypertext flow", "school adaptation to phenomenological reality", "school adaptability and dynamic adaptation", "tendency to power balance In School Relationships", " Living on the Gray Boundaries of School", "Individualized School Dialogues", " Self-Esteeming School Processes" can be used to explain the "invisible school phenomenon" as a new field of study in the educational management discipline. This research was able to construct the capacity of the "school ifeworld", as well as the possibility of examining the "school realities" from the perspective of the subjects. The results of this study showed that in practice and in the real world, for a long time, an invisible structure has been formed and operates in the context of the obvious school in the Iranian educational institution, which is much more powerful than the obvious school. From an epistemological point of view, the main field of study of the invisible school phenomenon is the "discipline of educational management", because these are educational administrators who are practically in a dual professional life, between "visible school" and "invisible school". This invisible school has all the elements and aspects of an educational system, and also has considerable credibility among the school's residents. Also, the concepts that have been extensively developed in this article to explain the phenomenon of the invisible school can be used in various areas of "educational management theory and practice".